


Debts in the Depths

by HonestMistake



Series: Fathoms Below [1]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: A+ Parenting, Alternate Universe - Merpeople, Body Horror, Drowning, Galdin Quay (Final Fantasy XV), I've had this in my head for ages, M/M, Mental influence, Repaying Debt, Sirens, Theft, the crystal, the ocean
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-22
Updated: 2020-11-22
Packaged: 2021-03-09 21:34:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,832
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27662773
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HonestMistake/pseuds/HonestMistake
Summary: Prompto joins his Dad on a week long science conference in Galdin Quay. Forbidden from enjoying the sand and surf for himself he's anticipating a long boring week. When he gets the chance to sneak off by himself who could blame him for soaking up the sun and fun while he could.If only his Dad's past wasn't quite so eager to catch up with him.The ocean will always claim what it is owed.
Relationships: Future Gladiolus Amicitia/Prompto Argentum/Noctis Lucis Caelum/Ignis Scientia, Prompto Argentum & Verstael Besithia
Series: Fathoms Below [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2041987
Comments: 7
Kudos: 52





	Debts in the Depths

The scent of fresh air, salt, and gasoline hits him the instant Prompto steps out of the air-conditioned car and onto the hot pavement of the little service station. His feet tingle in the gas station flip flops he bought on the drive over, the heat rising up from the pavement making him almost miss his boots. The breeze sweeps past him in lazy arcs hot and heavy with ocean damp air. The air is almost too thick to breathe sticking in his throat and clouding up his lungs like it does when he takes a too hot shower. The sun hangs low in the sky, almost but not quite setting, just barely painting the clouds in light shades of pink and orange.

It’s almost too much but the smile on his face is resplendent despite the discomfort his eyes glued to the expanse of blue streaked in sunset that stretched out into the horizon. It’s even more beautiful in person than it had looked in all the photographs he’d poured over when he’d heard where they were going. The sand shining in the light, the ocean gleaming like a diamond in a jewelry commercial with perfectly fluffy white clouds lazily drifting by on the breeze, it’s all so beautiful. He can almost feel the warm sand under his toes.

“I can’t wait to get out there!” He says bouncing on the balls of his feet as he held up his camera snapping a shot of the beach.

“We’re not here to fool around, we’re here because for some godforsaken reason they decided to hold the conference here and I will be fired or at the very least demoted if I do not attend.” His Dad grumbles as he jimmies his suitcase out of the too small trunk. “I don’t even know what you’re so excited about; you don’t even know how to swim and you know how I feel about the water.”

His happiness deflates like a balloon as he turns to look at his Dad who is giving him the look with arms crossed over his chest and his foot tapping against the pavement. Prompto sighs before he folds his hands together and puts on his best begging eyes. “This is Galdin Quay, it’s one of the safest beaches on Eos, there’s like ten lifeguards on duty watching every inch of the beach. I promise I’ll stay out of the water and on the sand, please Dad you at least have to let me take some pictures.”

“Prompto this is a luxury hotel, you’ll find plenty of things to entertain you in the room. I’ll even pay for a massage if you want one, they’re supposedly very good at that here, but you will stay inside and away from the water. That means no beach, no docks, no fishing, no taking photographs, and definitely no attempts to swim out in the ocean where you can get pulled in by a riptide and drown.” His Dad sets his suitcase on the ground by the trunk reaching back in to pull out a smaller bag.

“But we never go anywhere near the water and this might be my only chance to get some dramatic water shots for my portfolio!” He folds his hands as he begs his mind rattling with please, please, please let me go.

His Dad huffs his shoulders rising up like the feathers on an annoyed chocobo as he hefts the suitcase into his arms. “And there’s a reason for that, now take this bag and help me check into our room and no complaining about it either. You’ll thank me for this someday Prompto.”

“I doubt it.” Prompto mumbles under his breath as he raises the bag forcing an exaggerated smile as his dad looks over at him with his patented you better keep your mouth shut kid glare.

He gives the shore one last longing look before dutifully heading toward the hotel dragging along his bag. The sparkling brilliance mocks him as he walks up the pier and into the hotel. His Dad follows behind him grumbling all the while about how heavy his suitcase is and how he hates being so close to the water. It doesn’t take long for his Dad to take the lead eager as he is to get out of the open away from the ocean.

Prompto zones out, his mind out there in the surf splashing around as his Dad checks them in and they’re led into their room or as Prompto’s going to think of it his new prison cell for the week. In spite of his reservations the room is one of the nicest he’s ever been in. As prison cells go it’s downright swanky.

The beach theme is present but not overdone with light colors and giant windows overlooking the sea. The view’s spectacular, only spoiled by the knowledge that he won’t be going out there himself. No instead of sitting on the beach relaxing in the sunshine while eating a melting ice cream cone, he’ll be stuck attending the convention to shake hands with his dad’s fellow scientists.

He can already picture how it’s going to go, the imagined event drifting through his brain with a suitably depressing soundtrack. They’ll arrive to the applause and acclaim the name Verstael Besithia garners in the science circles. Then he’ll have to follow his Dad around with his camera ready to take pictures of anything that looks like it might be important. And of course inevitably given his luck when the company sees what he has he’ll have missed something they really wanted a picture of.

He’ll be faced with a plethora of paternal disappointment as he tries to explain to his Dad’s excited cohorts in science that he is not any kind of up and coming expert in any scientific field. He’ll watch as all their interest turn into a snooty scientist brand of distaste as he explains he’s just there to take pictures of the convention for the company webpage and newsletter. Then watch as their opinion of him plummets further as he explains that he’s absolutely not interested in any new species of foot fungus or flesh-eating virus and he most certainly didn’t want to see pictures even if he does have a camera.

To sum it up he’s in for the most boring week ever had at Galdin Quay.

He flops down face first on the first available mattress and groans pathetically. Too despondent to marvel at how soft and bouncy the mattress is like he would if they were here for the sun and sand a beach like this promised.

“I need to go to the Convention Center and get us signed in and as I’m sure you’ll be too distracted to be of any help I’ve decided to let you have a little fun before the convention starts. Here’s some money for dinner, grab yourself something to eat and keep yourself occupied in the hotel while I pick up our badges and get my presentation set up at the table. I expect to see you in the Center no later than nine tonight and make sure you have your license with you. They won’t let you in without it.” His Dad says handing him enough gil to get a weeks’ worth of food.

Prompto perks up like an excited puppy pocketing the money with a grin. “Okay Dad, want me to pick you up anything.”

His Dad waves him off turning to his suitcase. “I’ll find something later and Prompto when I say keep yourself occupied I mean in the hotel. I’ll know if you’ve been running down to the beach.”

Prompto’s heart sinks as his grin breaks into a grimace. “Yeah Dad I’ll behave.”

He turns and grabs his camera from its case quickly checking it over before running to the door and stepping out with a wave. “I’ll see you later Dad, we’ll see if I can get any good shots from the hotel.”

There’s no door to the Mother of Pearl restaurant and the open air is inviting him to sit close as he can to the ocean so he can sigh artfully at the unfairness of it all. Maybe he could even get someone else to sigh artfully for him and give him at least one good photo before the boring stuff begins and his camera fills with important science people and their important science things.

He walks up to the bar and the cheery looking hostess standing behind it. She grins at him with a customer service smile that somehow seems genuine but quickly turns into a genuine smile. “Oh a photographer! You must be here for the contest. The grand prize this year is a spread in Meteor Magazine, twenty thousand gil, and an all-expenses paid trip to Altissia to meet the Oracle.”

Prompto blinks at her his brain taking a moment to realize oh she’s talking to me. “Huh?”

“The photo contest?” She says gesturing from the camera still sitting around his neck to the little fold out chalkboard with a camera with the words ‘Capture the Magic and Meet the Oracle’ circling it drawn lovingly where a menu should be. “We have one every year to promote tourism and town pride. This year we partnered with Meteor publications and the Altissian government, so it’s our biggest prize yet, we actually bumped our usual first prize down to second place because of it. You can enter up to ten photos, but you can only win one prize.”

Prompto looks longingly at the flyer. “I’d love to but I’m actually here for the convention my Dad’s one of the keynote speakers so I’m gonna be pretty busy.”

Her cheer drains with a sigh. “That’s a shame, I’m not much of a photographer, but I love seeing all the entries.”

“If you do end up changing your mind just make sure you bring your pictures to me or one of the other photography stations along with one of these forms, filled out of course. The minimum entry is one photo and the fee to enter is twenty gil. You won’t need to pay more if you want to enter more photos, it’s a flat fee.” She says as she hands him a brightly colored piece of paper with the contest rules printed on it in a festive font.

“I may try and enter something.” He says in an attempt to cheer her up.

She smiles like he’s just made her day. “I’ll be looking forward to seeing what you’ve got.”

He orders a plate of Sea’s Bounty Risotto and takes a seat out in the open air as close to the ocean as he feels he’s ever gonna get.

He eats his admittedly delicious meal as he looks over the flyer committing every word to memory. He’s always wanted to meet the Oracle and taking pictures of the ocean sounds way better than being in a boring science conference listening to his Dad’s colleagues argue about the results of their studies. Temptation nags at him heralded on the calls of gulls and the rhythmic rolling of the waves. His heart picks up in his chest as he gazes over the horizon with longing that he can feel all the way down in his marrow.

This might be the only chance he'll ever have to see the ocean for himself, is he really just gonna go and waste it.

He looks down at his wrist and checks the time; he's got three hours before he has to be at the convention center. He should be able to take a good walk down the beach and grab a few pictures, hit the showers, and get dressed in enough time to make it to the convention center before he's missed. He tosses a tip onto the table and walks out of the restaurant whistling in a way that makes people look at him like he’s just done something wrong.

He casually makes his way down to the beach and hides under the pier for a moment looking for his Dad just in case he was keeping an eye on him. After a few minutes that seem to last an eternity without his phone ringing so his Dad can scream at him about obedience and how much trouble he’s in he makes his way out into the sun.

The sun’s already halfway sunk beneath the waves paining the ocean delightful shades of orange, red, pink, and yellow. His camera clicks away taking photos of the sunset, the Mother of Pearl, the hotel, a weird looking island in the distance, the beach goers, the bait shop, and even the little weapons set up in the gas station parking lot. Before long the sun’s sunk almost completely under the sea and he’s got more than enough pictures to make a good entry into the contest.

It doesn’t take long for him to wander away from the still lingering night beach crowd and into a more private stretch of beach that promises to give him a few stunning night shots. He abandons his sandals on one of the large jagged rocks and wanders out past the haven.

The crash of the waves is gentle in his ears as he wiggles his toes in the sand, still sun warm but quickly turning cool with the night chill. It doesn’t take him long to make it to the part of the shore where ocean meets beach and he looks down at the sudden chill as water rushes over his feet watching the wet sand squish up between his toes.

The ocean’s different at night; away from the hustle and bustle of the crowds even the waves seem subdued, like they’re waiting for something.

He holds up his camera hoping to catch a picture of those weird glowing fish he spotted before he has to run to the Convention Center and hope his Dad doesn’t figure out where he’s been. A dark blur draws his eye and he turns to get a better look. Shadows swirl in the water, a darkness that moves under the waves with haunting speed and grace. He holds up his camera and zooms in the image blurring out before it sharpens. The waves stir as the shadows shift under them, he creeps closer and his stomach drops as the shadows take on a more defined form.

Mer!

He runs and ducks behind a rock as the Mer surface in a spray of water, his camera flying out of his hands and skittering across the ground. He lunges for it, whimpering as his desperate swipe sends it falling into a tidepool. He scrambles back into cover and crouches down begging his heart to stop pounding so loudly. The gravely sand rolls under his feet crunching and crushing together and silent curses dart through his head as he tries to steady himself without making any noise. The memories of listening to one of his Dad’s Mer stories plays in his head like a play on the radio.

Mer are dangerous creatures my son, you must never let them catch you unawares. They'll seem pleasant at first, they always do, but you mustn't trust it.They have powers that can boggle the mind, they'll steal away your common sense and turn your body into a weapon against you.

You wouldn’t be the first that they dragged down into their lairs to devour, nor would you be the last. The so called peace we’ve brokered with those monsters is shaky at best. They’ve hunted us since the dawn of their creation and I don’t think they’ll ever change. They’re tricking us, luring us in with sweet words and innocent faces, but underneath they’re still the same deadly predators that made us flea from the oceans and seas in terror.

And to think there’s people who believe we can live alongside those monsters, the fools.

His heart does a weird flip as curiosity spreads across his brain like a weed in a neglected garden, filling it with the all too human need to venture into the unknown at the cost of life and limb. His body moves before his mind gives it permission creeping out on unsteady shaking feet until he can see them for himself. His heart beats frantically in his chest at the sight of three Mer each one as beautiful and terrifying as every tale he’d ever heard had made them out to be. Sprawled across the sand they glimmer with salt water and scales that reflect the moonlight, ethereal and not monstrous at all.

His heart picks up a hummingbird beat to match the shallow quick breaths and an odd sinking feeling that’s not fear but sits heavy in his belly like a rock all the same. They rise up suddenly and they have legs, he’s not sure why that’s the thing that stands out the most to him when they’re all gloriously naked. Maybe it’s because he’s always pictured Mer with beta like fish tails, long, delicate, brightly colored, and flowing, the way they were described in stories. Instead they have legs that could almost be mistaken for a human’s if one could look past the dark patches of what looks to be scales that dotted them.

They’re male and each one seems to be a study in the male form perfected. The biggest one is all muscle with long dark hair that might be black and tanned skin that’s only enhanced by the dark mottled pattern on his back that almost looks like a tattoo.

The second largest one is lean and tall without being lanky. He’s toned but nowhere near as muscular as the largest one, his hair the lightest of the three a dark blonde that helps him stand out from the other two. He stands like someone sure of their place in the world graceful and composed that Prompto feels frumpy in comparison even though the Mer isn’t even wearing clothes.

His eyes are drawn to the smallest one last. His hair is the darkest and his skin is pale as the moonlight almost seeming to glow like the fish they’d bypassed earlier. He’s muscular as well, fit and trim and somehow regal even as he falls into the sand nuzzling it with a sound that reminds him of a cats purr. His almost but not quite human legs kick back and forth as he pulls as much of the sand in reach of his arms into a pile under his head with a pleased sigh. “It’s still warm.”

“We’re not here to play in the sand Noctis we’ve got a human to find or did you forget already?” The largest one says voice deep and smooth as velvet, as he crosses his arms over his massive chest and raises one eyebrow.

“Come on Gladio I haven’t been on the surface in forever, just let me enjoy it.” The smallest one, Noctis, says with a sort of sleepy indifference as he snuggles even further into his little sand pile.

“If you want to enjoy it we should find the human as soon as possible; once we’re through dealing with it it’ll be safer for us to surface more often.” The last one says diplomatically and just from that Prompto can tell that he’s the most reasonable one.

Noctis lifts his head up just enough to glare at the other two a crumbling layer of sand sticking to his face and hair. “We’re not going to find them today anyway so why can’t I just enjoy this before we have to go too far?”

“Because our dodger’s been very good at avoiding us and if we don’t act quickly our trap will fail and they’ll be long gone before we ever get the chance to confront them. Besides you sensed that a Crystal fragment was close and given that there’s only one missing shard, there’s only one thing it could be. And if the shard is here that means that our dodger can’t be far behind. Ignis is right we can’t put this off or we may never find them again.” Gladio says eyes darkening with frustration.

Noctis huffs into his sand pillow. “We can find them tomorrow I’m going to enjoy my short time on the surface.”

Ignis leans over him hands on his lips like a mother scolding their child. “We should be finding them tonight, our quarry is notoriously slippery. How long has it been since we’ve caught their scent?”

“Years, we can’t risk losing them again.” Gladio says the tone of his voice leaving no room for argument as he stalks toward the smaller Mer with a cruelly playful grin.

Noctis grunts as Gladio picks him up carting him under one arm like a surfboard struggling like a damsel in the arms of a monster. “Let go of me!”

“Did you hear something Ignis?” Gladio asks with a shit eating grin ringing as clearly in his voice as it is plastered on his face.

“No, I’m afraid I don’t hear anything.” Ignis replies with affected indifference to Noctis’ affronted squawks and the that guy must be the reasonable one theory dies a quick and sudden death, there is no reasonable one, there never was a reasonable one.

He leans back against his convenient rock and yelps when his foot slips out from under him. He hits the ground somehow managing to land against the only thing that isn’t the nice, soft, cushioning sand. The scent of metal overtakes him for a second before the phantom smell is gone replaced by a strange fishiness and the sweetly salty tang of the ocean.

Ignis grabs Gladio by the forearm pulling him close his eyes trained on Prompto’s rock. “We’re not alone.”

Prompto’s heart stops the words ringing like a clanging cymbal in his brain. He crawls back behind his rock, his heart hammering in his ears as his hands cover his mouth in a futile attempt to keep quiet. His stomach clenches enough to be painful.

It’s like a lightning strike one moment he’s hidden behind some rocks and the next he’s flat out on his ass in full view of three Mer, their eyes glowing bright like stars in the darkness rooting him in place as easily as a petrification effect. Gladio walks toward him and Prompto shrinks back as the huge Mer closes in on him.

“You’re pretty clumsy on land for a human.” Gladio says voice surprisingly gentle as he wraps his arms around his waist and picks him up off the ground, holding him in his arms without even the slightest strain.

Noctis picks up one of his feet holding it up to shake it lightly where he can see it. “Aren’t you supposed to know how these things work?”

Prompto feels his entire body flush and he is suddenly very aware of every inch of skin that’s touching the very naked Mer. He looks away his face flushing as he tries to think unsexy thoughts before the dirty side of his brain can take this scenario and run with it. He looks up and every single thought he has in his head just flies right out of it.

Those eyes staring down at him are like honey, rich and golden and they draw him in like a moth fluttering up to a lit candle’s flame fearless and ready to burn. The emerald flecks of scales are sprinkled like freckles over his cheeks, the perfect contrast to his tawny skin, long dark hair, and the well-trimmed beard that decorates his jaw. Even the scar that cuts from the top of his forehead to his cheek through the skin on his left eye just serves to make him even more handsome.

“You’re pretty too.” Prompto’s brain catches up to what he said after a too long moment of looking up into Gladio’s eyes with a dazed look in his own, his blush spreading down across his chest as he tries to sputter out something that isn’t nonsense.

“You’re right Gladio is really pretty.” Noctis the smallest Mer grins at him with a teasing smile leaning against Gladio’s arms with ease dark blue eyes shining with mischief. His liquid black scales reflecting rainbow oil shine as he twists around the massive form of Gladio to poke and prod over his feet smirking as they twitch at the ticklish sensation. “What do you think Ignis isn’t Gladio just the prettiest?”

“I think you should let Gladio put down the human if you’re going to insist on teasing him like that.” Ignis says as he wanders toward them settling beside Gladio’s shoulder to look down at him and the reasonable one theory rises from the ashes.

He’s just as awe inspiring as the other two, his skin dotted with pale violet and silver flecks, his eyes a gleaming luminescent green, sharp as knives as they look him over.

Prompto looks back up at Gladio his eyes going wide at the flush that spread over his cheeks to meet on the bridge of his nose. Gladio shook his head and lowered his arms setting him back down on solid ground. He wobbles on his feet legs turning to jelly around the three men who might as well be the embodiments of a good many of his guilty teenaged fantasies.

Noctis grins up at him with a smile that holds a shadow of charm that is ruined by the razor-sharp fangs that look out of place in his otherwise human looking mouth. He couldn’t see them from far away but now he can’t tear his eyes from them.

“We’re here to collect a payment, there’s a human here who owes us a debt. Maybe you could help us find who we’re looking for.” He says with an odd sort of tone that sounds more like a command than a suggestion.

Prompto slowly steps back, the little lizard part of his brain painfully alert at the interest in their eyes. “Okay, you guys do that; I’m just here to get some pictures before my Dad gets back and catches me.”

“That didn’t stop you from spying on us.” Gladio says the touch of anger giving his voice a sharpened edge.

“I wasn’t spying I was just trying to take some pictures of the glowing fish when you showed up.” He threw his arm out to where the glowing fish had been.

“And then you started spying on us.” Noctis says coyly. “But we’re not here to fight no matter how much your kind may deserve it. A human here owes us a debt, if you were to help us locate them we would be happy to forget this whole mess ever happened. We might even consider ourselves indebted to you."

Prompto feels his pulse pick up as he feels water splash against the back of his feet. When did he even get this close to the water? He edges away from the water's icy grip toward the shining lights of civilization. His blood turns to ice as he feels the water pass over his legs sucking down on his feet, stumbling back into the surf feeling off balance from more than just the steady beat pounding against the back of his legs. Weren't Mer supposed to be predators? How did he forget that? Didn't all the real legends say they eat stupid people like him who walk alone on the beach at night and don't run away at the first sight of them?

I’m being herded into the water. The thought strikes in his brain like a bolt of lightning setting every nerve on fire.

Panic makes his voice jittery as he speaks his words crunching together as terror closes in on his throat. “I don't know anyone here you see I'm from out of town. You seem like perfectly nice Mer and I hope you find what you're looking for, but I'm about to be late and I'm in enough trouble as it is so I should really just get going.”

“We’re Lucians not Mer.” Ignis gently reprimands seemingly harmless but all the more sinister for the sharpness and hunger in his too green eyes. “And as his highness said we’re here to collect a debt from a human."

His head tilts to the side too bright eyes seeming to sear right through him. "Have you ever heard of a man named Verstael Besithia?”

Don’t say anything his brain practically screams at him, only he’s too late his mouth is already running away with him. “How do you know my Dad’s name?”

“You’re related to that thief?” Gladio growls his amicable mask crumbling away to reveal the cold blooded predator beneath.

“My Dad’s a scientist he isn’t a thief.” Prompto says his voice catching in his throat as the cold creeping its way up his legs makes a home in his chest.

“He borrowed a crystal fragment from us and promised to return it. We were making peace with your kind then, tired of the endless wars and bloodshed we were willing to part with it for the sake of our people. We promised three years and we kept to our word, only when the time came for your people to return the fragment, the bastard we entrusted it to vanished taking the fragment with him. What are we to call him but a thief?” Gladio asks his voice as frosty as diamond dust.

Any protest he has freezes in his lungs as it all starts to make horrifying amount of sense. All those tales , those songs, and stories on the horrors of Mer. Why his Dad hated the water. Why they never stayed in one place for longer than a year. Why he'd always felt like they were running from something. Didn’t his Dad know better than to make deals with Mer?

“He’ll do then, right?” Noctis says walking right up to him, looking him over like a rich guy in a store perusing something he might like to buy, talking about him as if he's a potted plant, alive but only there as decoration.

“What do you mean by that?” Prompto's voice rises in fear fueled anger.

"I think it's fair." Ignis says ignoring Prompto as easily as one would ignore a yapping dog. "Offspring has value even to these creatures; I think he’s our best chance of retrieving our fragment."

“He didn’t give me anything you give to you and I don’t think we really have anything you’d want. You’re just going to have to take it up with him some other time, but if it’s an emergency I can run and get him if you’d like.”

“I don’t think he understands, do you want me to break it to him?” Gladio says tilting his head to the side, the bulk of his body almost as intimidating as the faux friendly smile twisting his lips.

“Go ahead.” Noctis says teeth bared in a way that makes Prompto’s innards turn to water.

He screams as his legs are ripped out from under him and he's hurled through the air before he's can even register that he's been caught. He lands in the water droplets rising up above him as his body sinks like a stone beneath the surface. His feet hit the bottom and he pushes against it savagely. Instinct takes over and he kicks his legs and thrashes his arms, clawing his way to the surface with nothing but the bone deep need to survive to guide him. He bursts from the ocean and gasps for breath taking in more ocean than air, his lungs burning as he chokes and gags on the overwhelming sensation of water filling his throat clawing its way down into his lungs and stomach. He coughs and sputters his throat burning, trying desperately to find the shore blinded by tears and burning salt water.

It's not too deep his toes can just barely brush the sand beneath them, but the waves crash over his head and drag him back.

He doesn't get far.

Thin arms wrap around his body and drag him back into a slight muscular chest. He kicks and struggles trying to wrench itself out of the Lucian's arms but he can't get any leverage. The Mer's tail twines around his legs pulling them together and kicking lazily to keep them both above the surface. His clothes weigh him down and exhaustion creeps up on him like he's run a marathon.

“Let me go.” He bucks and thrashes like a fish on a line, but the hook like grasp holds firm.

“Sorry.” Noctis says as he pulls Prompto up to whisper into his ear. He whimpers as Noctis' lips brush against his skin, his razor sharp teeth gliding against the pounding of his pulse in his neck. "But I think I'm gonna keep you. Now relax, this will hurt enough without your struggling making it worse."

It’s all the warning he gets before pain hits him like cannon fire spreading from the sharpened spears of teeth in his neck. It’s like nothing he’s ever felt before, he screams as liquid fire courses through his veins and corrodes everything it touches into agony. His body collapses suddenly like a puppet whose strings just snapped under the strain of its own weight. He’s still awake but he can’t move, he can barely breathe, his eyes wide open and blind to the world, his vision awash in red.

The pain is a flash in the pan, gone as quickly as it struck a wave of agony so overwhelming that the sudden absence of it is terrifying. There’s nothing left but a numbing cold that spreads through his veins and the heavy weight of the Mer on his back holding him just above the water. He shivers and curls tighter into himself, his body burning up and freezing all at once.

“Now that wasn’t so bad, was it Prompto?” Noctis mocks leaning in just far enough that he can see its mouth ruby red and dripping out of the corner of his eye.

Prompto can't speak; he can barely even process the world around him. He's locked away inside his own mind, barely even aware of anything but the haunting cold. He can barely feel the waves crashing against his body clawing at him trying to drag him down into the water.

Noctis looks away from Prompto ignoring his violent shivers with ease as he calls out to the other Lucian's his voice pitched with manic delight. "Ignis, Gladio can you taste it too?"

"It's odd he doesn't taste normal." Ignis says as he swims up beside them his nose wrinkling at the pink tinted water spreading from the bite in Prompto's neck.

"Are we sure he isn't sick or something?" Gladio asks leaning in close to the human taking a delicate sniff of the air. "Should we even be this close to him?"

"He's not sick, are you Prompto?" Noctis asks the frail human without expecting the shivering senseless creature in his arms to respond.

"Prompto!" A distant voice calls drawing the Lucian's eyes back to the shore where they could see a figure making its way across the shore. It calls again it's voice carrying on the wind. "Prompto where are you?"

"Dad." Prompto cries his voice weak as he tries to raise his arm toward the figure on the shore.

Noctis grins like a Cheshire cat his shark like teeth glinting. "Let's go say hi to your Dad the thief, shall we Prompto?"

He leans back holding Prompto against his chest and with a strong kick of his tail he propels them toward the shore. Prompto grabs weakly at his neck fear urging him to grip as tightly as he can to the nearest solid surface, but his fingers can barely curl at all. Noctis' arms tighten around him and he hates that he's comforted by the stability his arms provide, hiding his shame by burying his face in Noctis neck, and trying desperately to forget how easily Noctis' teeth had cut into his flesh.

"Prompto!" His Dad's voice calls and something in him sparks to life as he tries to stretch towards him only for Noctis' comforting grip to turn iron around him.

"Dad!" He calls again only to freeze as he sees his Dad standing on shore in front of him.

"Give me back my son." Verstael says coldly moonlight glinting from the gun he holds aimed at Noctis' head. "I'm an excellent shot; I can promise you I won't miss, so give him back before you force my hand."

"Lower your weapon." Ignis says coolly holding out his hands blue light forming over them, a pair of daggers appearing from the light. He aims them one at Verstael's throat and the other poised to hit his heart. "I'd hate to have to kill you too soon."

"I'm not afraid to die for my son." Verstael pulls back the hammer of his revolver eyes as cold as a Galran winter. "I'd make it count."

Gladio holds out his arm a shield shimmering into view out of a sudden flash of blue. "It wouldn't. Now toss your weapon and we can talk as honorably as anyone can with a thief."

Verstael’s eyes dart from Prompto hanging limply in Noctis' arms his blood staining the water around him red, to Gladio holding his shield ready, to Ignis' daggers, to Noctis' vicious bloody grin. He throws his gun out into the water where it sinks below the surface with a splashing plop. Holding his head high he turns to the three Lucian's murder in his eyes. "I'm unarmed now we can negotiate for the return of my son." 

"It's too late to negotiate with us. You should've returned the fragment when you had the chance." Noctis snarls rising his head regally to glare at the human, his voice cold and feral, but regal. "All we wanted was the fragment, but now I can think of another thing I want from you."

"I destroyed it, if you wish to take your anger on its destruction out on me I'll allow it just let my son go." Verstael shouts.

"If you'd gotten here earlier I might have believed that, but it's not gone is it Verstael?" Noctis grins as he watches horror bloom across Verstael’s face all too eager to watch the man squirm.

Verstael steps toward them his voice rising in what may be either passion or panic. "It is gone. I was studying it in my lab when it fell into an acidic solution I was working on. I tried to get it back but it was eaten away before I could rescue it. "

"You're a terrible liar old friend. I’m not some newborn guppy you can play around with; I’m the Lucian Prince, future sovereign ruler of all the seas. I was born with the Crystal singing to me, it nurtured me before I drew my first breath, I was raised in the light of its glow. Do you think I of all people would be deaf to its song? Do you honestly believe I wouldn't know it just because you hid it away? I can sense its presence you can't hide it from me!” Noctis growls venomously as he reaches down and grabs Prompto by the throat forcing his head up.

Prompto screams as Noctis’ hand presses into his torn flesh flooding his vision with white hot agony. Blood gushes from between the Lucian’s fingers staining them crimson. His hand glows with the same energy that pulled Ignis' and Gladio's weapons from the air. His blood burns, boiling as it flows out of his neck changing at the brush of Noctis' fingers from thick liquid red to a flow of sickly purple light.

He ignores the way Prompto tenses against him, only having eyes for the vile human in front of him. "He's been exposed to the fragment, more than exposed. I can taste it in his blood, more than I can the warmth of his body. Look at how it's leaching from him, it's not just in him you made it part of him and that makes him mine. If you want him you're free to try and take him, but I won't be giving him up. You should consider our debt repaid and forget you ever had a son.”

Verstael surges into the water running toward Noctis like he a frail old man stands a chance in Noctis' element. His voice thunders with rage as he snarls at the Lucian's. "I'm not letting you take my son. I'll kill you, all of you. I'll never stop. I'll make the oceans run red with your blood before I let you have him."

"He's not yours anymore, you want him catch us if you can." Noctis laughs eyes blazing as he kicks away from shore and turns into a dive Ignis and Gladio swiftly following in his wake.

"Dad!" Prompto screams, the sound cutting off into a horrific sputter as he's dragged underwater. He thrashes in Noctis' arms trying to hold his breath as his lungs scream for oxygen. 

He thrashes and kicks panic returning his senses, but all his struggling's as effective as a puppy wrestling its mother. Any gains he has are Noctis humoring him, loosening his grip to spur him to fight harder, letting him go only to tackle him back into his arms. He gets loose for a moment when Noctis rolls back in an elegant flip kicking him in the chest with his tail knocking all the air out of him with a gasp. He claws at his throat watching the bubbles rise to the surface waiting for the pain to overtake him as his lungs force him to breathe.

He inhales his throat burning like he shoved a mouthful of coals down his throat. He exhales and it's even worse, he can taste copper in the salt water can feel glass in his lungs. He inhales again and it suddenly hits him that he's breathing. He's underwater and he's breathing.

His hand clings to his throat and the other settles over his chest feeling as it rises and falls. His lungs ache with alien sensations the thickness of the water is disturbing, the taste of salt overwhelming, the way he can feel it flowing in and out of his throat makes him nauseous.

"You're coming along nicely." Noctis says swimming up to him his voice sounding somehow clearer than it had above the waves. "I can't wait to see what you'll look like when your tail comes in."

He turns to the side just as Gladio emerges from the bright surface seeming to have sensed him before seeing him. "What do you think, I'm leaning toward gold myself, but with the Crystal involved he might be purple."

"Gold would suit this one well." Ignis says from behind Prompto reaching around to hold up his chin. "Though I think he'll surprise us, crimson would be a lovely color on him."

Gladio snorts looking down at Prompto with a teasing grin. "He's gonna be a common schooling fish, he might be lucky enough to be a bright silver, but most likely he's gonna be a dull greenish brown."

"Looks like we won't have to wait for long to see." Ignis says leaning in close to look at Prompto's face. "It looks like the first scales are already growing in. I've never heard of the transformation taking to a person this quickly."

"What are you talking about? What did you do to me?" Prompto yells thrashing about in an attempt to face them unable to help the confused look that overtakes his face as he realizes he's talking underwater.

Noctis shrugs like there's not a single reason to be concerned. "I marked you so that I could keep you. Soon enough you'll be a Lucian too."

"You can't just claim me I'm human." Prompto said pressing against his chest with one hand as if he could pull his humanness from inside himself and show it to them.

"I can, I already have." Noctis said lazily swimming a circle around him seeming to delight in the way Prompto thrashed around to try and keep him in sight. "I don't think I even needed to mark you at all with how fast the Crystal is accelerating your change. I think you would've turned in the water no matter what I did. The only difference is now you're mine."

"I'm not yours." Prompto snaps pointing accusingly at Noctis. "Biting someone doesn't just magically make them yours."

"Trying to convince him you're not his is as pointless as arguing with the tides." Gladio says swimming up to him and grabbing him around the waist. "He's a Royal Lucian, that's not just a title down here. Not like with your land dwelling royals. Royals here have power."

Ignis swam between them his eyes narrowed in a silent challenge. "Do try not to panic the newest member of our pod, I know he seems well so far but we shouldn't rile him up too much before the worst parts of the transition begin. It'll be hard enough on him if he's calm, he could hurt himself if he panics. We should look for some place to shelter until the transformation passes, I'm afraid we won't make it to Insomnia in time his toes have started to web."

Prompto grabbed his foot and dragged it up to his face his eyes widening at how he could see webbing growing up between his toes. "I think I'm gonna be sick."

A pair of arms scoop him up and pull him back against a wide muscular chest. He strains against the hold trying to wiggle his way free. It's about as effective as trying to win a rigged carnival game, a lot of effort for nothing.

"Looks like it's my turn to carry you." Gladio's voice rumbles against his back the friendly tone back in his voice though it's at odds with the way his arms tighten into a bruising hold and loosen in a clear warning for him to behave.

Prompto slumps into his arms, too tired to argue, his brain swimming in a soup of conflicting emotions that only serve to exhaust him. He laughs not entirely mirthlessly, but still subdued. "I really am changing."

"I thought the breathing under water would have given that away before the webbed feet. Then again from what I've seen you're changing pretty fast, usually the webbing takes a few days." Noctis says swimming upside down beneath them to talk.

He blinks up at Prompto and reaches up dragging his arm into Prompto's view to reveal cracks in his skin spilling out odd violet tinted energy. "And now you're glowing, usually humans don't do that, not even when we mark them."

He stares at his hand, bringing his other one up to see it hasn't started to glow yet. He watches mesmerized as the cracks spread across his hand like veins splintering off and growing into their own veins that splinter off into capillaries. It doesn't take long for them to crawl up the other arm and he can't help but wonder if it's spreading to the rest of his body or not.

”I didn’t ask for this.” Prompto crosses his arms curling into himself like he can hide from all the things he's feeling. He looks down at his body unable to look away from the cracks spreading over his skin bleeding light. "But I don't have much of a choice do I?"

"One rarely does with matters of destiny." Ignis says swimming up next to him, close enough that he could touch him if he stretched out his hands. His voice quiet in the way of early mornings, the solemness of the day before the rise of the sun. "But you do have choices, yes and no are not the only answers you can seek. Things may seem bleak now, but I think once you adjust you'll come to like it here with us."

Prompto sighs, blinking at the feeling of water flowing through his lungs, it was still so weird. "Will it hurt?"

Noctis reaches out brushing his fingers against he mark on the side of his neck, making it throb with the memory of teeth and pain. "My bite has anesthetizing properties. It might still hurt but not as much as you may fear and most likely you'll sleep through the worst of it."

The others leave him to his thoughts conversing among themselves in tones that aren’t whispers but still don’t manage to pass through the fog he’s in. It grows thicker and thicker, so strong that he doesn't notice anything outside of the slow crawl of wounded light crawling up his arms. He has no idea how much time passes with him watching his hands before he falls into a shallow fitful sleep.

His eyes flutter open and his jaws crack open in a yawn. His whole body throbs with an almost ache, his skin tingling like all his limbs have fallen asleep at once. One hand presses against his mouth, but the other doesn't move at all pinned between himself and something else.

He yelps and shoves himself away surprised when he gently floats away. He turns doing an awkward spin and gaping at Ignis and then the area behind the Lucian. it's not the endless blue of the ocean it's a cavern. Soft lights of a thousand different colors cover the walls seeming to glow and darken to a rhythm that he can't hear. Strangely former rocks, amorphous and resembling honeycomb, veins, brains, and all manner of things he recognizes from the surface. A crack halfway up to the ceiling of the cavern draws his eye to the endless blue of the ocean.

”It’s good to see you back with the living. Noctis and Gladio are hunting now, but they’ll be back soon. We found this nice little nook to ride out your transformation in.” Ignis says his eyes still bright but less predatory than before.

“You can go back to sleep if you want I’m afraid there’s not much to do here until the others get back unless you want to help me tidy this place up. Though given your condition it might be better if you relaxed. I have a feeling that when the glow finishes spreading the worst part of your metamorphosis will begin.” He gestures below them where rocks, shells, and plants littered the ground.

He swims down with an elegant kick of his tail and picks up some of the detritus carrying it over to the edge of the nook. He drops everything and swims back out, repeating the process. Prompto floats watching ensnared by Ignis' muscles moving under his skin and the trailing of his fins. It's almost soothing watching him swim back and forth, he's elegant and dexterous every move seeming effortless even when his body strains with moving one of the larger rocks.

"I want to go home. Do you know if I can ever go back?” He asks as he gives up trying to move and settles for watching the Lucian swimming back and forth carrying junk from the middle of the floor to the edges slowly but surely expanding a clear spot.

“Not to stay I’m afraid. You’re a Lucian now no matter how odd of one you end up becoming. You’ll be drawn to the water to the point of madness if you’re away from it for too long. You can visit though and we will not try and keep you from the surface when you recover enough to make the journey.” Ignis says with a sympathetic look swimming over to settle a grounding hand on Prompto's shoulder.

Prompto laughs bitterly, darkly amused as he looks over at Ignis his eyes serious. "I've always been driven mad by the water, every time we've ever driven past a river or stayed near a lake it hurt not to run over to it, throw myself in, splash around like they do in the movies. I'd stare at pictures of water for hours on end, I'd get mesmerized watching a water scene on the TV. I'd have dreams where I'd sail into the middle of the ocean, sit on the edge of the boat, lean back and just let the water take me. I feel more at home here than I ever did anywhere else that I ever lived. Now I know why."

He sighs looking down at his hands the purple light blocking out any sign of his skin. "This was always going to happen. Even if Noctis hadn't bit me I would have found my way here eventually. It's like all the old stories used to say, never try and run from the ocean, the water always claims what it's owed."


End file.
